Destiny
by viv-heart
Summary: Modern AU - ShanksBenn - Birthday-fic for Aerle, The two popular actors Shanks and Benn are regulars in Makino's bar. As she knows them in person, the young woman doesn't want to read fanfiction about them. But there is one, a single one story that hounts her. What will it be about when she finally gives in?


**A/N: **Happy Birthday dear Aerle! :)  
You have told a curious anon on tumblr that you wanted to read some ShanksBenn and well~ I hope you like it (even as it is short ._.) :)

And thanks to Vergina-spva for betaing.

Disclaimer: One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda. Unfortunately, it can't be given to friends on their birthdays. But at least, fanfictions can

* * *

Makino stopped scrolling.

Should she, or should she not?

The young woman stared at her cellphone. There was it: The fanfiction about her friends Shanks and Benn, two actors from the popular TV-series One Piece, that was hunting her with every update for weeks now.

Yes, it was about the actors, not about the characters they played.

That's what caused the young bartender's inner conflict. The characters in this story were real people and she knew them! It would be so weird to read about them, especially as the M rating promised some smut, and then to have to face the two men again.

But the story sounded so good... The author had decided to write their own version of how the men met, based on actual information from the media. She was just so curious!

Makino sighed, finally giving in and tapping on her phone's screen to open the story. She would somehow manage to face the men after reading this. After all, she was going to skip the smut.

At least, that was what Makino said to herself as she leaned on the counter in the empty bar and started reading. There was a lot of time before the first customers would arrive.

Shanks remembered the day he saw Benn the first time as one of the sunniest in the past few years, while Benn on the other hand believes it did rain.

In fact, it doesn't matter, as they met in a bar in the middle of the night, where both enjoyed their drinks until a fight broke out.

The redhead, as the peace loving man he is, naturally tried to step in and prevent the bar from further damage as he knew that the bar's owner Shakky would kill everybody who participated and somehow broke just a glass.

Unfortunately, it didn't bring much and the men fighting soon used chairs and tables to fight, smashing them on the people next to them. It was a mess, glass and wood flew all around the room. Shanks tried to get out of the mess, helping the few women who were present out without harm. It worked pretty good until somebody hit the back of his head with a piece of wood.

His vision blurred and Shanks fell forward. The men still fighting pushed him around until he landed in the corner. The redhead fell over and lost his consciousness.

When he woke up, his head was lying on something soft. Looking up, he realized that it was a man's lap, who was staring at him slightly surprised but with an amused smirk on his face. He seemed to be just a bit older than the redhead, probably in his mid-twenties.

"You alright?" the stranger asked with a deep, pleasant voice.

As the fight was still going on, Shanks realized that he must have been out just for seconds. He was lucky.

"Yeah. Everything is perfect." he grinned as he tried to sit up and not molest the kind stranger anymore, but he hit his head full force against the table.

The stranger's grin got even wider as he watched him.

"I am sorry! I am so sorry!" Shanks muttered in between of curses. His head hurt. But wait.

"Where is my hat? Where is my strawhat?" he looked around, panicking. This wasn't good. Did he loose his precious strawhat?!

"Um, are you looking for this?" the stranger asked, holding up Shanks' hat, which had been lying on the table.

"Yeah! That's it! Thank you a lot!" came the relieved reply. "It means to me a lot, you know."

Benn had to admit that the redhead's smile was really cute.

"So, are you often here?" he asked after a short pause. Fuck this. He was bored anyway.

"Me? Yeah. I am here pretty often. I am friends with Shakky!" he gestured towards the woman who was currently knocking out all the men who were still fighting.

One could see Silvers Rayleigh laugh from behind her. As he noticed Shanks' stare he winked to him, making the redhead turn back to his conversation partner. Silvers could be really nuts sometimes.

"How about you?" Shanks asked, after the man sitting next to him decided he had enough of the spectacle going on in front of them.

"Sometimes. Mostly when the old man is here as well." the man muttered as he lighted his cigarette.

"You know Silvers?" Shanks was surprised. "I was together with him on Gol D. Roger's ship!" he exclaimed happily.

The tall man sitting next to him rose an eyebrow at that. "What's your name?"

"Shanks! What's yours?" the redhead grinned at him. If the man was a friend of Silvers he had to be alright.

"Benn Beckman. I have heard about you and that Buggy." the man replied. Now, he was really interested in the young man in front of him. He had to be very skilled if he had been on Roger's ship. After all, Roger was famous as the best under all sailors. He himself didn't have such an amazing past.

"Haha. I didn't know that I was already famous." the redhead laughed, blushing slightly.

Benn just shook his head at that statement. It was so ridiculous.

"I have to go..." Shanks blurred out suddenly. "But we can talk tomorrow or the day after if you want to. I will be here!" with these words he stood up, put on his hat and waved goodbye to Benn, who gave him a halfhearted wave back, grinning from ear to ear.

From the day on, the men met every day for weeks and months, drinking and talking about everything. Sometimes, Silvers Rayleigh joined them or even Shakky if they were sitting at the bar. But most of the time, it was just the two of them.

The two young men had a lot in common like their love for booze and adventurous stories. And the dream of sailing to the sea on an own ship.

Occasionally, they joked about going to sea together. After all, it was more realistic than going alone.

Frequently, Shanks wanted these jokes to become reality. He has grown fond of Benn in the time they knew each other, even though the older man liked mocking him.

The redhead realized too late that he was falling in love with his friend.

It was especially bad, as a very attractive woman tried to seduce Benn and he felt more than jealous. Luckily for him, the older man turned her down in seconds.

Shanks felt the sudden urge to jump around Benn's neck, but he managed to suppress it somehow. "Why did you do that?" he asked instead. "She was really pretty."

"Well, not everybody likes the same. She just wasn't what I am looking for." he replied with a smirk, turning back to his beer.

"Am I what you are looking for?" Shanks spoke with a low voice, not daring to look Benn into the eyes. He feared the answer more than anything, but he needed to know it.

"Does it matter?" came the quiet answer.

Shanks glanced at his friend. The tall man was staring into his drink, his head hanging forwards. For the first time since they knew each other, the man didn't look confident. He looked almost guilty.

"Benn.." Shanks whispered in return.

"I am sorry. I understand if you don't want to have anything to do with me..."

It would be an understatement if the redhead said he was surprised. He did expect a lot, but not his friend feeling guilty of liking him.

"It's not like that... Benn, please look at me." the redhead pleaded.

The taller man didn't want to, but gave in after a short inner struggle.

The moment he turned to face the redhead, Benn felt soft lips on his own. His eyes grew wide in surprise, but he didn't want to question it.

Instead, the black-haired man pulled Shanks closer, forcing him to stand up and giving both better access. The kiss was long and passionate, neither of the men wanting to let go.

Until cold water hit them. Shanks immediately jumped away and fell on his ass.

Both men stared at Shakky, who was smiling at them from behind the counter, an empty glass in her hand.

"We are closing and you didn't react to anything else." She smiled at them apologetically, but it was obvious that she somehow enjoyed it.

"That sounds exactly like her." Benn's voice brought Makino back to reality. The man was glancing over her shoulder, grinning as always.

"I didn't expect you to read such things, but I have to admit that it isn't that bad..." He stepped back, giving the still shocked young woman some space.

"What are you doing here?" she asked finally, red as a tomato.

"I wanted to reserve the bar for tomorrow if it would be possible. Shanks wants to celebrate the end of the filming for the recent season and you know him.." the tall man shrugged, walking around the counter and leaning on it from the customer's side. He smiled at Makino. "You didn't notice me when I entered, so I decided to check out what was so interesting. Sorry about that."

"I-It's alright! Please, just don't tell Shanks about it!"

"What is keeping you so long, Benn?" the redhead's voice echoed through the empty bar out of the sudden. "And hello Makino, dear." he waved at the now bright red bartender.

Benn only laughed in response, while Makino waved back shyly.


End file.
